Latest Fix: Henyoku no Labyrinth

Name: Henyoku no Labyrinth
Author & Artist: KUMAGAI Kyoko
Chapters: 21 (ongoing)
Genres: Romance , School Life, Shoujo, Supernatural
Plot:
The story follows a love struck girl who is unfortunately in love with her sister's boyfriend, Hiroto. After her feelings are found out by the couple, she thinks her life is over... That is until she receives a magical key that allows her to travel back in time. Miyako is determined to use this second chance to confess to Hiroto before he develops feelings for her sister. Will this be second encounter be fruitful or will she discover that there are some things that simply can't be changed?

Overview:
Oh boy, I had to write the plot for you guys since the sypnosis on most sites is either non-existent or simply vague. Anyway, I don't make it a habit of picking up manga that is under 20 chapters since waiting for chapters is antagonizing (having the same problem with Rokka Melt by Toma Rei).

I'm currently addicted to this and though it seemed like it was going to be a short and typical story of: girl meets boy, falls in love, angst/complications, big confession scene and then happily ever after, it actually has a fairly compelling story.

Shoujo Manga Cliches: HNR Love Triangle

Time to revive my Shoujo Manga Cliches segment to just sit down and talk about the craziness of Hirunaka no Ryuusei since it's finally ended. Unlike most love triangles, HNR was actually fairly balanced and had some sort of uncertainty regarding who would get the girl. In other words, no one felt alpha or beta in the love triangle. Most mangakas make it very clear who the canon pairing is but HNR made it feel a lot more ambiguous in my opinion.  Though not all of these theories prevail standalone, if there are 3 or more, you can best bet the dude who fulfills all of them will 99% of the time be together with the girl. Let this pseudo-analysis begin!

Otaku Wrap Up: Short people problems

I've done posts like this before where I basically summarise what I've been doing for the past couple of months, whether it was reading a slew of manga, otome gaming and just doing anything otaku related (which you can find here and here). So I'm officially making this segment official and it will have a fairly arbitrary update frequencies.
I've done a fair bit of otome gaming (mostly voltage mobile games cos it's in English son) so I will save that for a completely separate post (I'll link it here once it's posted).

Without further ado here's a list of interesting mangas that I've been reading:

Finished: 

Color (2011) by MIMORI Ao

Short people problems

Same mangaka as B.O.D.Y (if you need a point of reference) about a couple of neighbours and childhood friends. The girl is in some unrequited love yada yada, spoiler alert, they end up dating. Really nothing new of groundbreaking but it was executed fairly well and was just short and sweet (about 7 chapters long).

Manga Review: Tsuki no Shippo

Name: Tsuki no Shippo 
Author & Artist: Ueda Rinko
Chapters: 42
Genres:  Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Harem, Historical, Martial Arts, Romance, Shoujo 

Plot:

Usagi is the granddaughter of the leader of a prestigious ninja village, but she's such a klutz that she's never made it out of the lower class. Frustrated with Usagi's lack of progress, her grandfather sends her to marry Lord Hanzo with an order to breed many ninja children. But the lord has no interest in her or her childbearing potential!

Review:
Ueda Rinko is probably not the most original artist around but she probably has my favourite art and the most entertaining/addicting stories. More or less, she embodies what stereotypical shoujo plot lines are all about: bishies and dumb but lovable heroines.

Usagi, despite her lack of talent in shinboi law and possessing any common sense, is your average 15 year old who is a little selfish, demanding and boy crazy. I usually hate characters like this but given her age and sudden betrothal I can forgive her for feeling this way. Plus she's the type of annoying that isn't grating or hate-able.

Where is the Shoujo community?

Nanahoshi Kiyoharu from
True Love, Sweet Lies.
What's this got to do with the post?
Nothing, just stare at the bishie,
It will cheer you up.

Shall get to a review soon since I recently finished reading a few mangas like Ueda Rinko's Tsuki no Shippo and Toma Rei's Reimei no Arcana. It's been a long time coming but I was more or less hesitant to pick up something that reminded me of Fushugi Yugi (which I shat on in another post eons ago).

Anyways, one of the things that I've come to consciously realise today is that the shoujo and josei demographic don't have much of a community. I mean sure there are forums but nothing mainstream enough unless it's a specific series. With the market being dominated by predominately shounen and seinen titles and anime following suite, it's no wonder such a niche genre is often overlooked in mainstream discussion.

Latest Fix: P to JK

Name: P to JK
Author & Artist: MIYOSHI Maki
Chapters: 15 - ongoing
Genres: Comedy,  Romance, Shoujo, School Life
Plot:

From ANN:

Female high-schooler Kako met Kouta at a party for adults. Although she gets into a good mood with him, she finds out he's actually a policeman.

Overview:
Hey readers, it's been awhile. Sorry for my disappearance yet again. I'll make a post about the happenings for the past 2 months and mangas and otome games I've been playing.

Anywho I actually haven't picked up much new manga but this is one of the few I've been following that has left some sort of impression on me.

Initially it's a fairly interesting premise with the policeman but soon it kind of devolves into some really unrealistic shoujo plot that requires you to suspend disbelief all up on another level. If you are able to get past this short coming, it's actually quite a solid series. The mangaka somehow blends in the shoujo universe logic, romance, friendships, some character development, some great side characters and a good foothold on darker themes like abuse.

Maybe the way the story is set up lowered my expectations and allowed me to enjoy the story for what it was. So give this series a go if you're looking for a light-hearted romance that isn't stalled with a fairly good plot and likable characters.

How to buy online smut manga

As someone who uses Renta as a means to legally obtain manga, having your money slowly deplete as you binge read everything has become a problem. More or less, especially with smut, you have to break the age old saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" and actually start doing it. I have made the mistake of impulse buying and as a poor, jobless, university student, savings are everything. So by making plently of mistakes, I've come up with some rules I follow to ensure I don't buy shitty smut manga.

Ao Haru Ride getting a Japanese film adaptation

Kou looks pretty hot, I'll know
I'll need a bucket to catch my drool

As all of you may know, Ao Haru Ride has already got an anime (withholding comments until at least the 5th episode) and now it's getting a live action adaptation to go with it.

I hope people understand that what makes a good adaptation of any manga into a live action film or drama is that they consider their purpose of the film and try and re-image it to a more realistic interpretation. Copying the manga exactly and turning it into a movie makes it dull. If I want something exactly the same, I can just go read the manga or watch the anime.

Manga Review: Kyou, Koi o Hajimemasu

Name: Kyou, Koi o Hajimemasu
Author & Artist: MINAMI Kanan
Chapters: 99
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Smut
Plot:

Tsubaki is a girl who loves making her younger sister's hair pretty every morning, but she doesn't think that kind of style suits herself! The day of her High School Beginning Ceremony, after she failed in being the top student (who usually makes the ceremony speech), she finds herself sitting next to the actual top student of the first years, the worst rude guy ever, Kyouta. She ends up cutting his hair on purpose because of the bad things he says to her. Kyouta demands that Tsubaki pay him back with her body, but Tsubaki fixes his hair instead--making it even shorter! After that, Kyouta unexpectedly kisses Tsubaki and swears that he'll make her his woman.

Review:
I dropped and picked up this manga several times already and I've only finished all 99 chapters recently so I will give you my personal thoughts on it.

It's basically your typical shoujo, teen wangst romance. Not that I have a problem but it took itself way too seriously and the main character, Tsubaki, was wangsting the whole way through about her feels (whining + angsting).

Reading list for June/July

Sorry for lack of activity in the review department and otome gaming but I've mainly been busy and burnt out from life in general.
Anyway since I'm not sure what to review at the moment, I'll give a short list of relevant series that I've finished reading this past month along with a summary.

I'm excluding oneshots and other odd series because they're too boring to be mentioned or ongoing series that haven't really picked up yet. So in chronological order we have:

80s and 90s

Shiroi Mado no Mukougawa by HIKAWA Kyouko (1980)
Your typical childhood friends school life story that builds up to the confession scene and ends. It's quite charming though and has a bit of the late 70s manga art in terms of style without the galaxy eyes. Being a fan of Hikawa's works, it's nice to see her art evolving compared to Kanata Kara which is one of my favs.

Tokyo no Casanova by KURAMOCHI Fusako (1983)
It's a story of false incest where the main gal finds out her bro ain't her bro and she starts having feels for him basically. It's quite dated with hair styles and clothing but I like it for that. It has some idol/actor industry themes to it to if you like that kind of stuff.

Manga Review: Miriam

Name: Miriam
Author & Artist: HIKAWA Kyouko
Chapters: 28 approx.
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Shoujo

Plot:

This is a cowboy shoujo manga set in the Wild West. Miriam is an orphan. Her father was a drunken gambler; she only had one dress and they moved from place to place, until one day her father died and Grace took her in. The series follows Miriam's life, growing up, and falling in love with her life-long friend, the skillful sharpshooter Douglas.

Review:

Sorry this was a draft for ages but I forgot to queue it since I've been swamped by finals and my likelihood of failure is still 50/50. Anyway, from the same author as Kanata Kara, it's another adventure story with a cowboy twist. I thoroughly enjoyed read it despite it being a western set shoujo.

Manga Review: Ojou-sama no Untenshu

Name: Ojou-sama no Untenshu
Author & Artist: SHIHARA Keiko
Chapters: 9 - completed
Genres: Drama, Historical, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:

From Omari's Sister: "It is the Taisho Era at a certain girl's school. There one young lady embodies the ambition and is the envy of every girl. The crimson ribbon adorning her marks her as the top student. She is none other than Yoshimura Sayaka. Always at her side is the chauffeur her family employs, Narutaki Shinobu. Are the two in love as rumored amongst the female student body!?" Note: Untranslated one-shot from the first volume—"Ruka to Touzoku (Ruka and the Thief)"

Review:
It's been awhile since my last manga review. I'll try to do more when I can since I hate those sites that post things that are irrelevant and don't stick to their core goals (hope you don't mind my Otome Plays.). I have less and less time, thanks to university and coupled with procrastination (yup even with things I enjoy doing), I've been reading less but expecting more.

This manga, for example, has beautiful artwork, a nice, basic storyline sprinkled with just the right amount of angst which doesn't get old too fast.
The characters are sweet, normal people who just want to be together.

Manga Review: Toukyou Lastochika

Name: Toukyou Lastochika
Author & Artist: MIYOSHI Furumachi
Chapters: 12 (approx.)  - Completed
Genres: Comedy, Historical, Romance, Shoujo, Slice Of Life, Tragedy
Plot:

In 1910, Hana Tsumura is hired to work as a servant for the Arima estate, throwing her into a turbulent whirlpool produced by the changing times and her meeting with Mitsuyuki, the young master of the household.

Review:
Recently, I bought this on Renta, a paid, online manga service in English since when I saw this, I had to buy it. I read this awhile ago but was hopelessly waiting for scanalations to pull through. Though I'm really happy to legally obtain it since it was such a good manga. It cost me about $8.64 USD so not too bad for 2 volumes of manga and I might make a post about my experience with Renta if anyone is interested.

I love historical manga, this being set in the Meiji era, had me intrigued from start to finish. It's a battle of social classes and the inevitability of how the two main characters were never meant to be. 

Manga Review: Help!!

Name: Help!!
Author & Artist: Fujiwara Kiyo
Chapters: 7 - Complete
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:

Kousaka Shin's ultimate dream is to become a doctor. So despite the facts that she is a cry baby, a coward, has a baby face, and only has an A cup--she is much more passionate about persuing her goals than others. One day her teacher, Abe-sensei, tells her she is not fit to be a doctor. From then on, a battle between them begins. There's an added twist! Abe-sensei and Shin are neighbors! Now, her journey to becoming a doctor will be even more difficult than imagined!

Review:
I have a week off from university so I will probably be posting a little more this week.  Anyways, the plot doesn't sound too contrived but I was pleasantly surprised at how refreshing the story actually is.

The main character, Kousaka is your typical babbling klutz who somehow wants to become a doctor (I think the description makes her sound more annoying than she actually is). Despite all this, she actually pulls through and whenever a situation arises, she steps up and earnestly tries to do her best. This is why her character is tolerable and I grew to really like her towards the end.

Latest Fix: Mairunovich

Name: Mairunovich
Author & Artist: SATO Zakuri
Chapters: 32 - ongoing
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School Life, Shoujo
Plot:

Kinoshita Mairu has a cute name and she's apologetic for it, because she's ugly. In fact, she's apologetic for her very existence because she's not cute. Classmates call her "Poison Mushroom" behind her back and even her own brother treats her with disdain. However, all of that is about to change with the help of her transvestite mentor/neighbor, Fuwari-chan, and the "school king," Kumada Tenyuu!

Review:
So I mentioned this manga in a post awhile ago as I picked it up as holiday/vacation reading and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

It's a dramatic, school life manga and although the author puts a lot of weight into the heroine's love life which gets really annoying at times and is almost ridiculous, whether intentional or not, it sends a strong message.

Mairu effectively gets the typical nerd to cute girl makeover, no glasses, a bit of makeup and hair styling and she turns out to be not-so-ugly after all. Her appearence has changed for the better, her socially awkwardness and her immature personality still shine through however.

Otome Plays: Nameless - Prologue, Intro [1/6]

Name: Nameless - The one thing you must recall
Developer: Cheritz
Length: 40 hours of gameplay
Genres: Drama, Psychological, Romance, School Life, Fantasy, Mystery, Shoujo, Comedy

Plot:
Eri (Hanuel, re-nameable) is a plain Jane with an interesting hobby. She collects ball jointed dolls. Finding solace in them after her granpa's death and her parent's perpetual absence from their overseas work, she suddenly wakes up to find them coming to life. What is she supposed to do now?

Notes:
So I finished playing this game a week ago and I absolutely love it. I'll do a review on it later but essentially the art and story and gorgeous and you have to pick it up. I made a game-play video on it so check it out. Enjoy.

Manga Review: Puzzle (MORIE Satoshi)

Name: Puzzle
Author & Artist: MORIE Satoshi
Chapters: 1 - completed
Genres: Mature, One Shot, Psychological, Romance, School Life, Shoujo
Plot: 
Miyabi is looking for someone to complete her.

Review:
The plot is a bit brief so the basic premise is about the downfall of the most popular couple in the school.The characters go under a metamorphosis from perfect, beautiful, straight-laced students to tragic pariahs at school and at home.

I love me a good psychological story and this really delivers. The thing about Morie's works is they have an almost foreboding atmosphere as it shows the psyche of the character's mind. Though it humanises their plight rather then highlighting anything two twisted.

The fact that it has smut in it actually adds another layer of intensity that I haven't seen in her previous mangas. The smut isn't too much in this story so it's alright for younger audiences, it as much as an American tv show.

Try this out and you'll be surprised. Quite a solid one shot full of dimension and intrigue.

Manhwa Review: Antique Romance

Name: Antique Romance
Author & Artist: KIM Mi Jung
Chapters: 27 - finished
Genres: Drama, Historical, Mature, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:

From Esthétique: "I am a human, but a doll... Feelings are not needed. Physically alive, but not mentally. I am a painting trapped inside a rusted frame. The cold skin of a statue. Like a stuffed bird-- Killed and set for display. I wonder... I wonder, on whose display I will be placed..." Includes extra story, The Dancing Marionette (Vol 3).

Review:
It seems like most of the manhwas that I end up and enjoy reading are the ones set in with darker mature themes which are inevitably coupled with tragic elements.
This has all the drama in a European ambient setting.

Some warnings before picking this up would include themes of prostitution and rape which are basically red flags that indicate that this ain't some fluffy shoujo.

There's also a certain scene that is horribly cryptic. It's not horror in a supernatural sense but the monstrosity of what humans can do to each other. It parallels closely with reality despite cliches and plot devices.

Manga Review: Magic

Name: Magic
Author & Artist: SHIMIZU Reiko
Status: Complete - 2 chapters
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Romance, Sci-fi, Shoujo
Plot:

From MangaArt:

There are 2 manga series in the book. In the first series, Magic, the background is set in the futuristic 2200's in the edge of the galaxy. Super model Kana has died in a space ship accident when she traveled to a planet on the edge of the galaxy. Her daughter was found 3 years after the magnetic storm has rested. A distant related cousin of Kana adopted the young child (he was also an old boyfriend of Kana!). Years later, Kana's child has grown up to be a teenage girl...

Review:
Here's some more 90s shoujo for y'all. This is a really interesting read since it's sci-fi and a breath of fresh air for shoujo lovers. I am not a big sci-fi fan but this had me intrigued from start to finish and if you're someone that avoids this genre I do recommend to give this a shot.

Every frame and dialogue bubble was utilised effectively and there wasn't too much to wrap your head around. It has a sort of... dark-ish ambiance about it (as expected from psychological stories) and the plot twists add even more layers to this story. Additionally, it made me question the morals of the characters, sets new boundaries of what is socially taboo or not. 

Manga Review: Viehmannin wa Utau

Name: Viehmannin wa Utau
Author & Artist: YAMAGUCHI Miyuki
Chapters: 26 - Complete
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Shoujo
Plot:

From Wingtip Cafe:
Rina is always busy studying and working to support herself. After the depressing news that she again lost first place in the school rankings to Julius, an expressionless guy who is her arch rival, Rina finds Milch, a little fairy girl. Later, she meets Sylvie, a Fairyland knight who has come to rescue Milch.

Review:
I'm a fan of a good mahou shoujo and stories with fairytale elements so it's probably why I enjoyed the story so much. It's more toned down and slower paced compared to a modern day manga since it was made in 1990 but it's a merit more than anything.

Older 90s manga is a hit and miss for a lot of people but if you enjoy fantasy I think this is pretty good. It has enough mystery and intrigue so that it doesn't feel like I'm trudging my way a long while reading it.